From: Ben Kelley
Subject: Crowd pleasing

But Pilate answered them, saying, "Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"  For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.  But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them.  Pilate answered and said to them again, "What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?"  So they cried out again, "Crucify Him!"  Then Pilate said to them, "Why, what evil has He done?" But they cried out all the more, "Crucify Him!"  So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.  (Mark 15:9-15 (NKJV)   Every believer probably thinks of Pilate as being a weak-willed political hack, who didn't have enough "back bone" to stand up to the crowd demanding he crucify Jesus (even though he did stand up to the chief priests about the title "King of the Jews" he put on Jesus' cross).  We decry him as a spineless jellyfish, because even though he declared Jesus innocent, he buckled to the pressure and delivered Him up to scourged and crucified, just to please the crowd.  I wonder though, how often we do, or, fail to do, something because we don't want to displease the crowd.  Before you say, "no, not me", let me offer you a few possibilities you may be guilty of.  (1) How many times have you felt the Spirit's urging to talk to someone about salvation, but you didn't, because others were standing there, also?  (2) Have you ever felt praise welling up in you and wanted to lift your hands in praise to Him, but didn't, because you didn't want others to think of you as a "fanatic", or a "Pentecostal"?  (3) How many times has the preaching of the Word of God resonated in your heart, but you kept your lips sealed, rather than speaking out an "amen", or, "hallelujah"?  (4) How many times have you heard a member of the group around you telling an off-color, or blasphemous, joke which bothered your spirit, yet, you laughed alongside the others?  if you will admit it, the reason you did or didn't do these things is simply because you didn't want to displease the crowd, instead, you wanted to please them; you wanted them to think well of you; you wanted them to like you.  These are just a few examples of how we seek to please the crowd; there are many more.  Pilate was afraid his boss, the emperor, would think ill of him, if the crowd followed through on their threat to tell the Caesar.  He sought to placate, or please, the rabble screaming for the Savior's blood.  If caught in that same situation, we would probably have done the same thing.  Don't think you would never do such a thing; instead, confess your weakness to God and ask Him for His power to help you be a "God-pleaser", not a "crowd pleaser."  Remember to Whom it is we owe everything.For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.  (Galatians 1:10 (KJV)

 Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.  For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.  For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:  That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;  Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:  That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.  For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.  He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.  (1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 (KJV)

Ben